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The real rationale for inflation is always to inflate your way out of debt. All rulers try it and trash their economies doing so. It is welshing on the debt. It is debt repudiation. It is theft. It is immoral. It is unwise. The ONLY rational economic policy vis-a-vis inflation is to end it or not start it at any time at any stage of the inflation. If ending it would cause problems you can be sure that continuing it will cause greater problems, albeit after some delay. Reagan ended inflation. His FED did not piddle around with trying to make any sort of "soft landing" or try to shove off any unpleasant effects on to the next administration. Reagan said STOP and it was stopped. We then had a recession . We then had a loooong boom that was not interrupted until 2000 and the interruption was quite mild by the standard of recessions. Some people who believe they support free markets simply cannot let go of the idea that there is no real spontaneity in market exchange and that the government must guide every development, that if the wise men in Washington don't constantly adjust the tiller and stanch development here and ordain it there, why Monopolies will rise everywhere and people will not know how to buy and sell. It is all degrees of dirigisme and socialism. Experts think that only they can make things work right, that nothing works right unless the Experts are planning it and pulling the strings. It is worse than the rooster that thinks if he oversleeps the sun will not come up right because the rooster's delusion can do no harm. The economic tinkerer can do only harm.

The real rationale for inflation is always to inflate your way out of debt.

Actually, because you can't hit a 0% inflation rate and because deflation is much worse than inflation, it's safer to target a low inflation rate. I think they currently shoot for 1.5% to 2.5%.